[pick up the tab]{v. phr.} To pay the bill in a restaurant; be the one who underwrites financially what others are doing. •/"I am always the one who picks up the tab," Charlie complained bitterly. "Others get away with being freeloaders."/ Compare: FOOT THE BILL.

[Pidgin English]{n. phr.} A jargon that consists of some mispronounced English words and some foreign words used by Orientals in talking with Westerners. •/You can conduct a lot of business in Pidgin English in the Far East./

[pie] See: EAT HUMBLE PIE, FINGER IN THE PIE, PIE IN THE SKY, SWEETIE PIE.

[piece] See: BY THE PIECE, CONVERSATION PIECE, GIVE A PIECE OF ONE’S MIND, GO TO PIECES, OF A PIECE, PIECE OF CAKE, SAY ONE’S PIECE or SPEAK ONE’S PIECE, TO PIECES.

[piece of cake]{adj.}, {slang} Easy. •/The final exam was a piece of cake./

[piece out]{v.} 1. To put together from many different pieces; put together from odd parts; patch. •/They pieced out a meal from leftovers./ •/He pieced out the machine with scrap parts./ •/The detective pieced out the story from a stray fact here, a clue there, and a hint somewhere else./ 2. To make larger or longer by adding one or more pieces. •/The girl grew so fast that her mother had to piece out her dresses./

[piecework]{n.} Work paid for in accordance with the quantity produced. •/Al prefers working on a piecework basis to being on a regular salary because he feels he makes more that way./

[pie in the sky]{n. phr.}, {informal} An unrealistic wish or hope. •/Our trip to Hawaii is still only a pie in the sky./ Compare: PIPE DREAM.

[pigeonhole]{v.} 1. To set aside; defer consideration of. •/The plan was pigeonholed until the next committee meeting./ 2. To typecast; give a stereotypical characterization to someone. •/It was unfair of the committee to pigeonhole him as a left-wing troublemaker./

[pigeonhole]{n.} 1. Small compartment for internal mail in an office or a department. •/"You can just put your late exam into my pigeonhole," said Professor Brown to the concerned student./ 2. One of the small compartments in a desk or cabinet. •/He keeps his cufflinks in a pigeonhole in his desk./

[piggy-back]{adj.} or {adv.} Sitting or being carried on the shoulders. •/Little John loved to go for a piggy-back ride on his father’s shoulders./ •/When Mary sprained her ankle, John carried her piggy-back to the doctor./

[piggy bank]{n.} A small bank, sometimes in the shape of a pig, for saving coins. •/John’s father gave him a piggy bank./

[pigheaded]{adj.} Stubborn; unwilling to compromise. •/"Stop being so pigheaded!" she cried. "I, too, can be right sometimes!"/

[pig in a poke]{n. phr.} An unseen bargain; something accepted or bought without looking at it carefully. •/Buying land by mail is buying a pig in a poke: sometimes the land turns out to be under water./

[pig out]{v. phr.} 1. To eat a tremendous amount of food. •/"I always pig out on my birthday," she confessed./ 2. To peruse; have great fun with; indulge in for a longer period of time. •/"Go to bed and pig out on a good mystery story," the doctor recommended./

[pile up]{v. phr.} 1. To grow into a big heap. •/He didn’t go into his office for three days and his work kept piling up./ 2. To run aground. •/Boats often pile up on the rocks in the shallow water./ 3. To crash. •/One car made a sudden stop and the two cars behind it piled up./

[pile-up]{n.} 1. A heap; a deposit of one object on top of another. •/There is a huge pile-up of junked cars in this vacant lot./ 2. A large number of objects in the same place, said of traffic. •/I was late because of the traffic pile-up on the highway./

[pill] See: BITTER PILL.

[pillar of society]{n. phr.} A leading figure who contributes to the support and the well-being of his/her society; a person of irreproachable character. •/Mrs. Brown, the director of our classical symphony fund, is a true pillar of society./

[pillar to post] See: FROM PILLAR TO POST.

[pimple] See: GOOSE BUMPS or GOOSE PIMPLES.

[pin] See: ON PINS AND NEEDLES.

[pinch] See: TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT also TAKE WITH A PINCH OF SALT, WHERE THE SHOE PINCHES.

[pinch and scrape]{v. phr.} To save as much money as possible by spending as little as possible. •/They are trying to buy their first house so they are pinching and scraping every penny they can./

[pinch-hit]{v.} 1. To substitute for another player at bat in a baseball game. •/Smith was sent in to pinch-hit for Jones./ 2. {informal} To act for a while, or in an emergency, for another person; take someone’s place for a while. •/I asked him to pinch-hit for me while I was away./ •/The president of the City Council pinch-hits for the mayor when the mayor is out of town./ — [pinch-hitter] {n.} •/Jones was hit by a pitched ball and Smith came in as a pinch-hitter./ •/When our teacher was sick, Mrs. Harris was called as a pinch-hitter./ — [pinch-hitting] {adj.} or {n.} •/Pinch-hitting for another teacher is a hard job./

[pinch pennies]{v. phr.}, {informal} Not spend a penny more than necessary; be very saving or thrifty. •/When Tom and Mary were saving money to buy a house, they had to pinch pennies./ — [penny-pincher] {n.}, {informal} A stingy or selfish person; miser. •/He spent so little money that he began to get the name of a penny-pincher./ — [penny-pinching] {adj.} or {n.}, {informal} •/Bob saved enough money by penny-pinching to buy a bicycle./

[pin curl]{n.} A curl made with a hair clip or bobby pin. •/Mary washed her hair and put it up in pin curls./ •/All the girls had their hair in pin curls to get ready for the party./

[pin down]{v.} 1a. To keep (someone) from moving; make stay in a place or position; trap. •/Mr. Jones' leg was pinned down under the car after the accident./ •/The soldier was pinned down in the hole because rifle bullets were flying over his head./ 1b. To keep (someone) from changing what (he) says or means; make (someone) admit the truth; make (someone) agree to something. •/Mary didn’t like the book but I couldn’t pin her down to say what she didn’t like about it./ •/I tried to pin Bob down to fix my bicycle tomorrow, but he wouldn’t say that he could./ 2. To tell clearly and exactly; explain so that there is no doubt. •/The police tried to pin down the blame for the fire in the school./

[pine away]{v. phr.} To waste away with grief. •/After George was sent abroad, his wife pined away for him so much that she became ill./

[pink] See: IN THE PINK, TICKLE PINK.

[pink around the gills] See: GREEN AROUND THE GILLS.

[pin money]{n. phr.} Extra money used for incidentals. •/She has a regular full-time job but she earns extra pin money by doing a lot of baby-sitting./

[pin one’s ears back]{v. phr.}, {slang} 1. To beat; defeat. •/After winning three games in a row, the Reds had their ears pinned back by the Blues./ 2. To scold. •/Mrs. Smith pinned Mary’s ears back for not doing her homework./

[pin one’s faith on]{v. phr.} To depend upon; trust. •/We pinned our faith on our home basketball team to win the state finals, and they did!/